Pencil attachment for dialing telephones



June 17, 1952 H. w. SAMS 2,601,129

PENCIL ATTACHMENT FOR DIALING TELEPHONE-S Filed Aug. 4, 1948 HERBERT W SAMS BY Wm M ATTORN EY Patented June 17, 1952 OFFICE PENCIL ATTACHMENT FOR DIALING TELEPHONES Herbert W. Sams, Atlanta, Ga, ass'ignor to Scripto, Inc., a corporation of Georgia Application August4, 1948, Serial No. 42,385

2 Claims; (Cl. 12084) This invention relates to mechanical pencils of the type comprising a lead feed mechanism housed in a barrel and operated from a ferrule fitted on the top end of the barrel, and more especially to an attachment adapting such pencils for use in dialing telephones.

According to the present invention an annular collar or the like is rotatably associated with the operating ferrule for engaging the apertures of a telephone dial, but Without in any way hampering the normal use and operation of the pencil. In addition to the annular collar, the operating ferrule may also be fitted with a plug member disposed for directing the annular collar into engagement with the telephone dial apertures, or an eraser may be similarly disposed in the operating ferrule for the same purpose.

The present invention is described in detail below in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a mechanical pencil incorporating the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical section of the top end of the pencil shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a similar vertical section showing a modified arrangement incorporating an eraser; and,

Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the use of a mechanical pencil incorporating the present invention for dialing a telephone.

Referring now to the drawings, 2 indicates the body or barrel of a mechanical pencil, a lead feed mechanism (not shown) for the pencil being suitably arranged in this barrel 2 as disclosed, for example, in U. S. Patent No. 2,265,162, issued December 9, 1941, to Paul S. Hauton, or in the copending application of Blanchard D. Smith, Serial No. 634,271, filed December 11, 1945, now Patent No. 2,511,301, granted June 13, 1950.

At the top end of the barrel 2, an assembly cap 4 is fixed in covering relation by dimpling or the like, as indicated at 6, for positioning and retaining the lead feed mechanism in the barrel 2, and a connecting cap 8 is disposed over the assembly cap 4. This connecting cap 8 comprises a base portion formed for engagement with the extending end of the lead feed mechanism (shown at l), and depending wing portions [2 and I4 disposed to overlie the assembly cap 4 adjacent its top end. Certain of these depending wing portions, as at 12, are formed inwardly to ride the assembly cap 4, and others are formed outwardly, as at [4, to engage frictionally an operating ferrule is so that the lead feed mechanism can be operated from this ferrule Hi. The form and arrangement of a pencil construction of this type is fully disclosed in the above identified prior patent and copending application to which reference is made for further details.

As previously mentioned, the mechanical pencil just described is adapted according to the present invention for use in dialing telephones, and for this purpose the operating ferrule 16 is fitted with a rotatable annular collar l8. Suitably, the ferrule [6 may be" formed with an annular groove 23 adjacent its top end to receive the annular collar [8 as illustrated in Figs. 2 and 30f the drawing, the inner face of the annular collar 18' being formed with a boss or the likeas indicated at22 adapted to seat in the annular groove 20 so that the collar 18 is retained laterally but is free for rotation on the ferrule it. As shown in the drawings, the annular] collar I8 is fitted on the operating ferrule IB' adjacent the top end thereof so as to leave a substantial portion of the ferrule l6 entirely unchanged for manipulation in the usual manner, as already mentioned above; and'it should be noted further that the annular groove 26 is formed in the ferrule IS in a width proportioned to receive a boss 22 of the annular collar 18 having a width that extends for a major portion of the width of collar [8, so that the couar 18' may be mounted rather loosely on the ferrule It for free rotation while at the same time avoiding any tendency of the collar It to cock and bind on the ferrule H6.

The body of the annular collar l8 otherwise extends beyond the groove 20 at both sides and projects beyond the top edge of the operating ferrule l6, and this projecting portion of the collar I8 is rounded as at 24 for entering and engaging an aperture in a telephone dial as will be described further presently.

The operating ferrule l6 may also be fitted internally, according to the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, with a plug member 26 projecting from the top end of the ferrule [6 for directing the annular collar l8 into engagement with the telephone dial apertures. For this purpose, the projecting portion of the plug member 26 is preferably tapered as shown in Fig. 2, and formed with a shoulder 28 partially overlying the upper end face of the collar I8 but spaced therefrom slightly so as not to bind the collar I8 against free rotation on the ferrule 16.

The above described arrangement may be modified as illustrated in Fig. 3, if desired, to

include an eraser 30 fitted internally in the operating ferrule l6 instead of the plug member 26. Mechanical pencils of the type involved here commonly have erasers arranged in the operating ferrules, and the arrangement shown in Fig. 3 further illustrates the manner in which such pencils may be adapted according to the present invention for use in dialing telephones without hampering normal use of the pencil. The eraser 30 may be provided with a conventional metal binding 32 at its lower end to facilitate insertion of the ferrule l6, and when in place the eraser 30 will provide substantially the same directing function as the plug member 26, as will be seen by comparing Figs. 2 and 8.

The manner in which the mechanical pencil of the present invention may be used for dialing a telephone is illustrated in Fig. 4, in which the telephone dial is indicated at 34 formed with the usual series of apertures one of which is shown at 36. For dialing, the top end of the pencil barrel 2 is inserted in the aperture 36, the plug member 26 serving as this is done to direct the pencil to a generally centered position in the aperture 36 so that the rounded peripheral edge 30 of the annular collar l8 will enter and engage the aperture 36. As shown in Fig. 4, the annular collar I8 is formed with an outside diameter somewhat larger than that of the aperture 36 so that its rounded edge 30 engages the periphery of the aperture 36, and the projecting length of the plug member 26 is limited so as to remain clear of the telephone dial base 38 during dialing.

When the pencil is used in this manner for dialing, the annular collar l8 remains stationary with relation to the aperture 36, but rotates on the operating ferrule I6 so that the dialing operation is carried out with ease and facility. While the pencil is thus adapted by the annular collar 18 fitted on the operating ferrule I6 for dialing telephones, it will be noted that a substantial length of the operating ferrule I6 is still free for gripping to actuate the lead feed mechanism of the pencil in the usual way. The present invention accordingly provides a mechanical pencil which is particularly well adapted for use in dialing telephones, and which may be used for taking notes or the like in an ensuing telephone conversation, or otherwise put to normal use as a mechanical pencil.

Iclaim:

1. A telephone dialing attachment for mechanical pencils of the type comprising a lead feed mechanism housed in a barrel and actuated from an operating ferrule fitted on the top end of the barrel, said attachment comprising an operating ferrule formed with an annular groove adjacent one end, an annular collar rotatably disposed in said groove for engaging the apertures in a telephone dial and dialing the same without operating said ferrule, and a plug member fitted internally in said operating ferrule and projecting from the end adjacent said groove, the projecting portion of said plug member being tapered and partially overlying said annular collar for directing said annular collar into engagement with the telephone dial apertures.

2. A telephone dialing attachment for mechanical pencils of the type comprising a lead feed mechanism housed in a barrel and actuated from an operating ferrule fitted on the top end of the barrel, said attachment comprising an operating ferrule formed with an annular groove adjacent the top end thereof, an annular collar adapted for engaging the apertures of a telephone dial and having an internal boss disposed in said groove for mounting said collar rotatably on said ferrule, said internal boss being formed in a width extending for a major portion of the width of said annular collar whereby cocking and binding of said collar on said ferrule is avoided while allowing said boss to be disposed loosely in said groove to mount said collar for rotation freely on said ferrule so that said collar may be employed for telephone dialing without operating said ferrule, and a plug member fitted internally in said operating ferrule and projecting from the top end of said ferrule for directing said collar into engagement with the telephone dial apertures.

HERBERT W. SAMS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 310,840 Millner Jan. 13, 1885 882,377 Evans Mar. 17, 1908 1,067,208 Alk July 8, 1913 1,591,998 Popper July 13, 1926 1,772,325 Shinn Aug. 5, 1930 1,798,050 Van Sickler Mar. 24, 1931 2,247,027 Kuhn et a1. June 24, 1941 

